Please help low abv first brew

[Saustin]

First of all, I’ve read this forum several times and y’all have helped me a bunch on my first brew and thank you so much.

Wondering if anyone could help me out I just finished brewing my first chinook ipa kit from northern brewer, I changed the recipe from 3 ounces of chinook to 3 ounces of Amarillo hops. Ended up with a 1.032 og, after three weeks of fermentation fg was 1.010. Flavor profile is great but taste off the fermenter was watery and obviously low abv. I just gave the fermenter a shake and closed it back up and I’ll check it again in a few days.
Was my og too low? Or do y’all think I killed my yeast somehow, the only part we got lazy on was the aeration of the wort which I know after more research is a necessity.

 

[bracconiere]

extract or all grain? sugar takes some persuasion to get mixed into water.....

if you have both a hydrometer and a refractometer, you can figure your actual ABV from the two....

edit: the kit says OG of 1.053 for the extract...and if it was the extract version, it'd be hard to miss it....

 

[Saustin]

Extract kit, and I only have the hygrometer

 

[bracconiere]

well i had to google hygrometer.....but i'm assuming you didn't use a humidity meter to check gravity...

how did you add the malt extract to the wort? i'd still be guessing it was close to stated OG...


when i add my 4lbs of sugar to my cider, it doesn't read on the hydro, but ferments into it......

 

[Saustin]

Sorry auto correct lol. I added 6lbs malt extract right at boil as well as 1lb dme right after, boiled for 60 minutes and hopped per the recipe just with Amarillo instead of chinook. Had 2 people reading the recipe I’m not sure where we could have gone wrong unless we boiled off more than what was intended

 

[bracconiere]

huh....what temp was the OG taken at? i got a OG of 1.043 in beersmith for 6 lbs of LME in a 5 gallon batch....which with temp correction would be what it'd be at 120f, and if you added the other extract addition after the boil and it didn't get mixed in thoroughly.....

 

[Saustin]

Mm you know that’s the only thing I didn’t write down, maybe I took the OG too warm then. Does your brew taste watery from the fermenter though? I’ll have to take more notes next time and do more homework.

 

[IslandLizard]

the kit says OG of 1.053 for the extract...and if it was the extract version, it'd be hard to miss it....

With extracts it's indeed hard to miss the OG.

From 1.053 OG to 1.010 FG should not taste watery.

Did perhaps a lot of wort get spilled, or left behind in the kettle and discarded after the boil?

Ended up with a 1.032 og,

After the boil, did you top up with water? If it doesn't mix well, the reading could be off.
But 1.032 OG would explain the watery taste.

 

[IslandLizard]

Here's another thought:
NB guarantees their recipes...

Maybe call them up and ask for a replacement? I'm not kidding.

 

[rwinzing]

Also, beer will taste completely different after carbonation happens. Watery may mean thin which is going to help once it is carbonated. Did you do a full volume boil or did you add water to the fermenter?

 

[Saustin]

With extracts it's indeed hard to miss the OG.

From 1.053 OG to 1.010 FG should not taste watery.

Did perhaps a lot of wort get spilled, or left behind in the kettle and discarded after the boil?


After the boil, did you top up with water? If it doesn't mix well, the reading could be off.
But 1.032 OG would explain the watery taste.

No wort got spilled or left behind except a tiny bit in the bottom of the kettle with sediment in it. Wort came out to about 2 gallons.

 

[Saustin]

I think I’m going to order another recipe, pay more attention to temps and gravity and drink fewer beers while we’re doing it lol. I’m not sure where we went wrong unless my OG is inaccurate. But

 

[DannyBoy270]

Your FG seems about right so I wouldn't expect it to come down much more. If your OG really was only 1.032 that would explain why it tastes thin/watery, however with 7lbs of extract I'd find that hard to believe. Did you perhaps take you OG reading before the wort chilled to pitching temp? Because if you took it at say 150 degrees the temperature correction comes out to about 1.051 which is obviously closer to your target.

Regarding a watery taste from the fermenter, it could just be because this is an extract only brew. Extract tends to be more thin in body, and in an IPA like yours most of the flavor comes from the hops anyway. As someone else mentioned carbonation is going to make a world of difference. Probably no need to do anything rash at this point. I'd bottle it, let it condition for 2 weeks, and then see what you think of it. Take tasting notes so you have something to build off. Likewise, if it feels thin still look into steeping specialty grains on your next brew; it's a common practice that adds more body & flavor to extract recipes.

Welcome to the hobby and remember to RDWAHAHB

 

[IslandLizard]

No wort got spilled or left behind except a tiny bit in the bottom of the kettle with sediment in it. Wort came out to about 2 gallons.

Some may depend on how tiny that bit of leftover wort in the kettle was, compared to the 2 gallons that was left over. Was that 2 gallons in the fermenter? How much do you think was left over in the kettle with the trub? A pint? A quart? More?

Realize, by doing partial boils, with top up in the fermenter, the wort in the kettle is very concentrated. For a 5 gallon batch at 1.053, the 2.5 gallons of wort in the kettle is double that gravity, 1.106 (!). If it were only 2 gallons, 1.133 (!!)
Even a pint or quart left behind in the kettle impacts the gravity of the wort significantly, once diluted in the fermenter to the intended batch volume (5 gallons), which will then be more than just a few points low.

That's why with partial boils it's usually better to dump the whole kettle content into the fermenter to prevent wasting super high gravity wort. You could strain it (or just the last few quarts) to keep most hop pulp out of the fermenter.
Then, when fermentation has finished, when racking to your keg or bottling bucket, just leave the trub layer on the bottom behind containing maybe only a pint of beer. That's only 1 pint out of 40, leaving 39 packaged pints.

 

[Saustin]

Some may depend on how tiny that bit of leftover wort in the kettle was, compared to the 2 gallons that was left over. Was that 2 gallons in the fermenter? How much do you think was left over in the kettle with the trub? A pint? A quart? More?

Realize, by doing partial boils, with top up in the fermenter, the wort in the kettle is very concentrated. For a 5 gallon batch at 1.053, the 2.5 gallons of wort in the kettle is double that gravity, 1.106 (!). If it were only 2 gallons, 1.133 (!!)
Even a pint or quart left behind in the kettle impacts the gravity of the wort significantly, once diluted in the fermenter to the intended batch volume (5 gallons), which will then be more than just a few points low.

That's why with partial boils it's usually better to dump the whole kettle content into the fermenter to prevent wasting super high gravity wort. You could strain it (or just the last few quarts) to keep most hop pulp out of the fermenter.
Then, when fermentation has finished, when racking to your keg or bottling bucket, just leave the trub layer on the bottom behind containing maybe only a pint of beer. That's only 1 pint out of 40, leaving 39 packaged pints.

I think we left a very little amount, maybe 3-5 ounces at most. Straining that would be a great option next time however.

 

[IslandLizard]

Regarding a watery taste from the fermenter, it could just be because this is an extract only brew. Extract tends to be more thin in body [...] look into steeping specialty grains on your next brew; it's a common practice that adds more body & flavor to extract recipes.

According to the recipe instructions, the kit does contain a pound of steeping grains:

SPECIALTY GRAIN:​

0.75 lbs Belgian Cara 8​

0.25 lbs Briess Caramel 120​

 

[Saustin]

Your FG seems about right so I wouldn't expect it to come down much more. If your OG really was only 1.032 that would explain why it tastes thin/watery, however with 7lbs of extract I'd find that hard to believe. Did you perhaps take you OG reading before the wort chilled to pitching temp? Because if you took it at say 150 degrees the temperature correction comes out to about 1.051 which is obviously closer to your target.

Regarding a watery taste from the fermenter, it could just be because this is an extract only brew. Extract tends to be more thin in body, and in an IPA like yours most of the flavor comes from the hops anyway. As someone else mentioned carbonation is going to make a world of difference. Probably no need to do anything rash at this point. I'd bottle it, let it condition for 2 weeks, and then see what you think of it. Take tasting notes so you have something to build off. Likewise, if it feels thin still look into steeping specialty grains on your next brew; it's a common practice that adds more body & flavor to extract recipes.

Welcome to the hobby and remember to RDWAHAHB

I do seem to remember it was warmer than what it should have been but not by much I failed to write that down, I would believe it wasn’t mixed thoroughly causing my sample to be diluted. Well see what happens with this one and I’ll learn from it. Thank you everyone for your input and help on this!! This is the fastest and most complete responses I’ve ever gotten on any forum y’all seem like a great group to be apart of.

 

[IslandLizard]

I think we left a very little amount, maybe 3-5 ounces at most.

That strengthens the argument that your low OG measurement was due to incomplete mixing. It's quite amazing how much stratification occurs when topping up with water. You're not the first... or the last.

I hope you omitted the secondary.

 

[Saustin]

According to the recipe instructions, the kit does contain a pound of steeping grains:

SPECIALTY GRAIN:​

0.75 lbs Belgian Cara 8​

0.25 lbs Briess Caramel 120​

Yes and we did steep grains as the recipe advised.

 

[Saustin]

That strengthens the argument that your low OG measurement was due to incomplete mixing. It's quite amazing how much stratification occurs when topping up with water. You're not the first... or the last.

I hope you omitted the secondary.

I just did primary fermentation, no secondary.

 

[DannyBoy270]

Be sure to post an update once you crack the 1st bottle and let us know how it turned out in the end. I've got my fingers crossed for ya, but worst comes to worst chalk it up to a good learning experience!

 

[bracconiere]

complete responses I’ve ever gotten on any forum y’all seem like a great group to be apart of.

never lose your sense of humor man!